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There is much better Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Thai food in Denver (the strip down Federal) than what we had in WA, including a much-touted dim sum place in Seattle’s International District. There was even one Denver Chinese restaurant that was open almost 24/7; they actually had a separate late-night menu. I don’t know if they are still there, but given how well the other restaurants have done from the growth, it would not surprise me if they are open round the clock now.
That restaurant strip is among the top 3 things I most miss about being within an hour of Denver. Most people have no clue what a gem it is. Don’t go there for pu pu platters and sweet-sour guck over deepfat fried things, go for the authentic stuff.
There is much better Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Thai food in Denver (the strip down Federal) than what we had in WA, including a much-touted dim sum place in Seattle’s International District. There was even one Denver Chinese restaurant that was open almost 24/7; they actually had a separate late-night menu. I don’t know if they are still there, but given how well the other restaurants have done from the growth, it would not surprise me if they are open round the clock now.
That restaurant strip is among the top 3 things I most miss about being within an hour of Denver. Most people have no clue what a gem it is. Don’t go there for pu pu platters and sweet-sour guck over deepfat fried things, go for the authentic stuff.
Thanks for this info.! I'd really appreciate it if you could expand on "the strip down Federal" or give a couple restaurant names in that area.
It is true that many cities are skyrocketing in prices. Heck, even many of the once super affordable Midwestern cities are now becoming a bit more trendy and hip. I've looked at Kansas City and Columbus, Ohio which now are also having a property boom and rent increases. Cities like Nashville are now about as expensive as Denver, which is nuts, since the job market hasn't caught up. But, I feel a city like Nashville which has a lot of entertainment, lively nightlife, friendlier people and a more sociable urban atmosphere is more worth the price than a city like Denver. Denver still just has kind of a desolate cow-town feel to it and many people seem to spend most of their free time out of the city, rather than in it. I've never been in a city this large that completely shuts down so early. Getting a burger or Chinese food after 9PM is a chore in Denver compared to other places. Denver just feels like Wyoming meets Southern California. Endless suburban sprawl and a sleepy urban core. Even most of the bars here stop serving food at 9PM, which is crazy. I had more food options at 11PM in Olympia and Bellingham, Washington than in Denver. Eugene, OR had a more thriving nightlife scene than Denver. If you are going to have BIG CITY prices like Denver you better have BIG CITY amenities.
However, I just don't feel Denver is worth it for what you pay.. The city has no life and as others said, the cuisine leaves a lot to be desired.. THere isn't much for social activities in the city and not a lot of sociable events. The only events in Denver are typical for many places, beer festivals, lage concerts with famous musicians and professional sports games. Those are fine and I think Denver fares well there. Day to day urban activities are very limited in Denver even compared to Portland, Oregon. In fact, I kind of think even Boise has more going on than Denver and I always thought Boise was pretty desolate and dull place. Not to mention you can get a nice upscale apartment in downtown Boise for a fraction of what you pay in Denver. The mountains and wilderness in Idaho are also nicer, in my opinion, than Colorado and you have way more diversity of geography.
Of course, if you are into rock climbing, skiing, snowboarding than this is your city. It seems like a good majority of the events in Denver revolve around ski resorts and mountain activities. However, I just don't like the elevation and I rather do my outdoor stuff in Appalachians or Cascades, because at 8,000 to 12,000ft the lack of oxygen and powerful UV rays take a lot out of you. I never realized it, but the lack of water here is also really depressing. If I am out in the mountains I want to see beautiful lakes, river and streams. The ones in Colorado look so dismal to what I am use to seeing in Washington, Oregon and Idaho.
The breweries in Colorado are quite good, but the weed is not so good and no where is good as compared to the Northwest. Hahah, I guess at least people have the right to smoke weed here and unlike some, I view that as a positive and it will be something I miss leaving Colorado, as the next state I go to will not have legal weed. But, I really miss the weed back home so much in the Pacific Northwest which is much higher quality and more natural.
Yet, I had to leave the Pacific Northwest because both Washington state and Oregon became completely uninhabitable for a single professional who also cherishes some of his other freedoms and liberties that now have been compromised over there. The traffic, cost of living, polarizing politics, homeless issue (Denver doesn't even hold a candle), lack of friendliness among many other issues made me say goodbye to the Northwest. As well, Portland, OR is basically the same price as Denver with lower wages and higher taxes. Seattle is like living in San Francisco now. Neither Seattle, Portland or Denver are worth the price you pay anymore or the struggles you have to endure to have the luxury of living in some oversized, poorly made shoebox in these cities.
The mountains of Colorado are nice, but being from the Pacific Northwest I feel our mountains are much more scenic and have a much more diverse geography, especially comparing the Western side of Cascades to the Eastern side. You have majestic snowcapped peaks all over the Northwest, where in Colorado you have several 13ers and 14ers that you have to hunt down and find. It's not like you have Mount So-and-So just beaming from the landscape like with Mount Baker, Mount Rainier, Mount Hood, Mount Adams or the Three Sisters. I know a lot of people come to Colorado from the Midwest and to them the mountains just blow their mind. Coming from the Pacific Northwest I think they are grossly overrated, but still scenic. Still, I would much rather live in Bellingham, WA and take trips to Mount Baker and the Canadian Cascades than pay a billion dollars to live in Aspen and fighting the hordes of people to see Maroon Bells and some other peaks that still don't hold a candle to North Cascades or Canadian Cascades.
This is a well written post. I don't fully agree with it but do credit you for good writing.
Having said that, why are you still in Denver if it bothers you so much? I am genuinely curious. Is there family or a job/career that is keeping you here?
This is a well written post. I don't fully agree with it but do credit you for good writing.
Having said that, why are you still in Denver if it bothers you so much? I am genuinely curious. Is there family or a job/career that is keeping you here?
Thanks for the compliments.. I didn't expect everyone to see eye to eye with me.
Well, I am bound to a lease until end of August and the fact that I am working 70+ hours to hopefully tring to start my own online business or get a telecommute job are the other inspiration of me staying. Basically, there is not really much for me to do in Denver. So , I am just locked up in my condo in the suburbs working long, long hours on my business ventures, studying new technologies and also having to work for the business that I will be leaving by the end of the year. Basically, I keep busy. If I had to move right now, I would hinder my studying/work . I just got done with two cross country moves and even though I don't like Denver I don't have the energy or ability to just pack up and leave and pack this moment.
The fact that Denver is such a hard place to meet people and there is so few activities that don't involve long ventures out of the city has actually helped me get much more work done. TO be honest, maybe it is just as well I live in a place like Denver for now, as the lack of urban activities and cold weather help me stay inside and get more work done. Yes, I know if you make an effort you can make many places work, but my priorities are my business and career now.. It was a lot easier though to make friends in Portland and Seattle. Seattle was no easy place to meet people, but better than Denver. I also use to think people in Seattle were reserved, but its actually worse here. You didn't have to join a mountain climbing group or join a sports league to just be able to make social connections. Cities like Seattle, New York, Chicago, etc have lots of workaholics and they are in my situation. You want to make friends in Denver you have to make a serious effort.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pikabike
There is much better Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Thai food in Denver (the strip down Federal) than what we had in WA, including a much-touted dim sum place in Seattle’s International District. There was even one Denver Chinese restaurant that was open almost 24/7; they actually had a separate late-night menu. I don’t know if they are still there, but given how well the other restaurants have done from the growth, it would not surprise me if they are open round the clock now.
That restaurant strip is among the top 3 things I most miss about being within an hour of Denver. Most people have no clue what a gem it is. Don’t go there for pu pu platters and sweet-sour guck over deepfat fried things, go for the authentic stuff.
I will have to check out these Asian restaurants on Federal. It's hard to believe they could rival Seattle, although I never was too impressed with the Chinese food in Seattle. On the other hand, the Teriyaki, Korean and Thai food (on Bellevue side, especially) were better than anything I had anywhere else, except Vancouver, BC. I use to live near Korea town in Lakewood, WA and there was huge strips of Korean supermarkets and restaurants and most of the signs were in Korean. The Puget Sound has two large Korean neighborhoods, one is in Federal Way (not to be confused with Federal Ave in Denver) and the other is International District in Lakewood. When In these neighborhoods you feel like you literally stepped into Seoul. Although, a bit more run-down version of Seoul as the South Sound is a bit gritty. There is just no way that I can imagine Denver rivaling the restaurants here. I just cannot believe Denver has better Korean or Thai food than Seattle. THere is literally a Teriyaki, Korean or Thai joint on every street corner. In Denver, I have yet to even see a single Teriyaki place after driving all over the city. There are a few, but they have horrible reviews. The Thai place I went to was packed to capacity and had top reviews, but was the most bland and boring Thai food I ever had in my life. I gave up on Thai, Indian and Middle Eastern food after blowing a lot of money at very overpriced and mediocre restaurants. In regards to food, Denver is probably the worst food city I have ever lived in. The Italian places here are also just awful. What is the aversion people here have to putting spices in their food? I guess having very mild/bland flavored food is more palatable to people here. I'm a spice fiend, so the ultra mild flavors of food here just annoys me. I did find a couple of great Mexican restaurants though and that is about the only places I go to eat out now.
People always praise cities like Denver and knock down cities like Charlotte as being too corporate and chain-like. However, I found the exact opposite. Even in Charlotte, NC I found several mom-and-pop BBQ places and eateries and even much better ethnic cuisine across the board. The Italian food in Charlotte was awesome and many of eateries were run by former residents from NYC, rather than people who found some recipes from some Sicilian guy who inspired them. In Denver's defense, Seattle also had really bad Italian food and most Italian restaurants were run by Eastern Europeans who had not a clue about authenticity. The Indian food in Charlotte was some of the best I ever had! In fact, I find that Denver has more corporate and chain eateries than Charlotte, despite this unfair reputation. Outside of local Mexican restaurants, I find myself having to go to chains in Denver, especially after 9PM when everything around you is closed. In Seattle and even Portland I could get Thai and Middle Eastern food at 2AM. All you can get in Denver is Pete's (ghastly awful fast-food Mexican). I did find a nice chain though that saved me from starving to death after 10PM called Yard House. It's corporate though. Everyone raves about Cart-Driver as a late night place. That was one of the worst pizzas I ever had and they didn't even put cheese on half my pizza the last time I Was there. What boggles my mind is why that place is packed to capacity every night and I have to wait 20 minutes in line to do an order for such mediocre food?
Where Denver excels is in beer.. There is good beer here. Avery, Great Divide, Epic and several other breweries are just spectacular. I will say the Denver breweries outperform those in the Northwest. However, I find there are polar extremes with breweries due to the large number of breweries. Whereas most breweries in the Northwest are good across the board, Colorado has some very spectacular, but also some pretty bad breweries. But, I have been getting good and finding the good ones and bypassing the fly-by-night style breweries.
Last edited by RotseCherut; 03-12-2019 at 03:57 PM..
Thanks for this info.! I'd really appreciate it if you could expand on "the strip down Federal" or give a couple restaurant names in that area.
The stretch of Federal Blvd. near and north of Alameda has the Asian plethora. It might have changed a bit since I last visited there (a couple years ago). Star Kitchen and SuperStar Asian (or some such name) were the names of two excellent dim sum specialists very near each other. There were other really good Chinese places on Federal—we sometimes had a hard time choosing. It was almost a situation of not being able to go wrong. I also loved the Cantonese beef bok choy with steamed rice served up by some hole-in-the-wall place in one of the many strip malls, whose name I cannot remember.
For Vietnamese: Banh Mi (mostly subs), New Saigon, pretty much any of the pho places around there. The Far East center had two wonderful bakeries that sold items I had not seen since being in Boston’s Chinatown. There are shops that sell perfectly roasted pork, duck, and chicken; look for the stuff hanging from hooks in display windows. You will sometimes see yellow poultry feet, too. I don’t eat some of the stuff available but don’t let these things turn you off. It means you are in the right place. Oh...fresh seafood...it was better than any America seafood restaurants in or around Denver.
Be adventurous and just try any one that smells good! I follow my nose, and it works pretty well.
In the suburbs, we knew of ONE good Chinese restaurant, Golden Plate II off Hampden in Lakewood. Sesame pockets with pork or chicken “hash”, chicken sizzling rice soup, pan-fried stuffed dumplings (not potstickers, though they also made great potstickers), beef chow fun, all kinds of goodies never found in suburbia. We last ate there a couple years ago on the same visit, so I have no idea if it is still there.
Rotse, “a bit gritty” sums up the Federal strip. It reminded me a little of Boston’s Chinatown way back in the 60s and 70s, minus the tight alleys with higgledy-piggledly wooden crates of live chickens stacked, right near the smelly garbage cans etc. OK, that was more than a bit gritty. But, wow, the chicken from those places melted in the mouth. I don’t know how they got it so tender and flavorful.
Back to Federal: to some western eyes, it is too “gritty.” Even the NYC couple who moved to our old neighborhood who asked for real Chinese grocery stores indicated they thought it was too third-world looking, though they did not use those words (being PC types). I think their notion of authentic had to be sanitized versions, served in dressed-up settings. Example: the Japanese restaurant with its own gardens, name forgotten by me but famous and very good if you like what they serve (I don’t). Wish I could remember its name, but I bet it is still there and thriving. Warning: that one is expensive. Not in the Federal strip, more like Denver-Denver than west Denver.
EDIT: The Japanese restaurant is Domo. Came right up when I searched, so it is still there.
Rotse, “a bit gritty” sums up the Federal strip. It reminded me a little of Boston’s Chinatown way back in the 60s and 70s, minus the tight alleys with higgledy-piggledly wooden crates of live chickens stacked, right near the smelly garbage cans etc...
Is the Federal grit also located by a uh, red-light district? I remember Boston's Chinatown as being very dicey for that. (Never saw it in the 1960s, only the 1970s, and the chapel for sailors was still there).
Is the Federal grit also located by a uh, red-light district? I remember Boston's Chinatown as being very dicey for that. (Never saw it in the 1960s, only the 1970s, and the chapel for sailors was still there).
Hmmmm, I don’t know if Denver has anything comparable to Boston’s former Combat Zone. There are “adult” bookstores and the like down Santa Fe and near longhaul trucking centers. There are so-called Asian massage places (you can guess what they really are) interspersed, but nothing I would hesitate to just walk past. Plenty of, errr, normal kinds of stores around and lots of traffic.
The Days Inn at Sixth and Federal got busted for drugs and prostitution, in the 90s I think, maybe early 2000s. There was a shooting later in broad daylight right near one of my frequently-visited strip malls. But these were not common happenings, though the area was not what people would call “a good neighborhood.” Could be getting gentrified now, for all I know.
I used to occasionally walk right through the old Combat Zone on my way elsewhere. Definitely seedy, but I never had any kind of trouble either there or when walking through what used to be feared by many as, well, ghettos. However, (a) I never walked there at night, and (b) I literally just passed through except one time when I just had to go inside a bookstore and see what the fuss was about, LOL.
There ain’t nuthin’ remotely like those in Ridgeway, I’m afraid. Motown and GJ, however...
Hmmmm, I don’t know if Denver has anything comparable to Boston’s former Combat Zone. ...
There ain’t nuthin’ remotely like those in Ridgeway, I’m afraid. Motown and GJ, however...
Every time I drive past the "Asian Massage" sign near the Montrose airport, I shudder for the likelihood of trafficked people forced to work there.
I had a boyfriend (soon -ex) who went to a strip show in the then-Combat Zone, thought he'd make the friendship of one of the workers by "treating her like a person," and she started to get into his car and stole his wallet. No fool like a young fool.
I worked at New England Medical Center in 1988 and walked through what was left of the Zone at the time. Lots of drunken people lying around. One was actually dead but people figured he was passed out and left him on the curb until I called police.
It was hard to get decked out for the theater and walk through that stuff. Something just lacking.
Now it's all high rises and condos and the mentally ill and drunken people hang out on the Common, to everyone's detriment. It sure doesn't take much to make a place feel uncivil.
Where is N610DL? I am sure he has some positive things to say about Denver before moving back to Los Angeles. This thread has his name all over it.
To the OP, I think you'll know when you're ready to leave. I certainly knew when, and even kept delaying it some.
I agree with his post about Denver not being San Francisco, NYC, L.A. etc. It is more or less a small city with gorgeous mountain views and way more Midwest under the hood than anticipated. It shouldn't be so pricey to live there and is well on it's way to becoming CA in terms of COL (it already is in some ways I'm sure.) Granted, it's understood prices will rise but not in the way Denver's rent and real estate is and wages not keeping up. When they finally allow income tax range to be 10% when making 50-75K a year, then you know it's officially has become "East California."
I've actually been doing some interviewing with a company based in AUS and if I got the job might relocate there. I was doing some research and man, for what you get for your buck in terms of rent out there is nuts even compared to DEN. We're talking new properties all with pools near the downtown area starting at around 1K per month for a 1 Bedroom. They say AUS is getting expensive but clearly not in the same way DEN has become at all.
I actually joked with the recruiter on the phone, "Do you people out in Austin don't shun out people from CA like people in CO do?" She laughed and said "No, we're more than happy to welcome Californians any day of the week." I think it's becoming a running gag how some CO Natives blame displaced CA folks for all their problems.
To the folks who say, "If you don't like it leave!" it's not easy for many to do that once they've committed to living in CO. Most want to give every possible chance to flourish there as I tried to do the same but pulled the plug eventually. And it had nothing to do with wages or rent either, it was from a social perspective.
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Motown and GJ, however...
